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Northern Ireland Open (snooker)

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For the previous tournament held in Belfast, see Northern Ireland Trophy. For the previous tournament held in Tallaght, see Irish Open (snooker).

Northern Ireland Open
Tournament information
VenueWaterfront Hall
LocationBelfast
CountryNorthern Ireland
Established2016
Organisation(s)World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£555,400
Recent edition2024
Current champion Kyren Wilson (ENG)

The Northern Ireland Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament held in Belfast as part of the four-event Home Nations Series. The players compete for the Alex Higgins Trophy, named for the late two-time world champion who was born and raised in Belfast. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 2016 and was won by Mark King.

The reigning champion is Kyren Wilson.

History

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On 29 April 2015 World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn announced that the "Northern Ireland Open" at a Belfast venue would be added to the main tour in 2016,[1] as part of a new Home Nations Series with the existing Welsh Open and Scottish Open, and the new English Open tournaments.[2][3]

In 2017, Yan Bingtao became the youngest player to reach a ranking final. Yan came close to breaking Ronnie O'Sullivan's record of being the youngest player to win a ranking event, which had stood for 24 years, but he narrowly lost to Mark Williams 8–9 after having led 8–7. This final also featured one of the biggest age gaps between finalists as Williams was almost 25 years older than Yan. Additionally, Yan also became the first player born in the 2000s to reach the final of a ranking tournament.

In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Judd Trump defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–7 in each final. The 2020 tournament was staged outside Northern Ireland, at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom on the 2020–21 snooker season.[4]

In 2021, Mark Allen became the first Northern Irish player to win the event, knocking out defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals and beating John Higgins 9–8 in the final, after trailing 6–8.[5] In 2022, Allen successfully defended the title, coming from 1–4 down to beat Zhou Yuelong 9–4.[6][7]

In 2023, Judd Trump regained the title for a record-extending fourth time, beating Chris Wakelin 9–3 in the final.[8] Trump reached the final again in 2024 but lost 3–9 to reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson who became the first right-handed player to win the event.[9][10]

Winners

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Year Winner Runner-up Final score Venue City Season
2016[11]  Mark King (ENG)  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 9–8 Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast, Northern Ireland 2016/17
2017[12]  Mark Williams (WAL)  Yan Bingtao (CHN) 9–8 Waterfront Hall 2017/18
2018[13]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 9–7 2018/19
2019[14]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 9–7 2019/20
2020[15]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 9–7 Marshall Arena Milton Keynes, England 2020/21
2021[16]  Mark Allen (NIR)  John Higgins (SCO) 9–8 Waterfront Hall Belfast, Northern Ireland 2021/22
2022[17]  Mark Allen (NIR)  Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 9–4 2022/23
2023[18]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Chris Wakelin (ENG) 9–3 2023/24
2024[19]  Kyren Wilson (ENG)  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–3 2024/25

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Snooker tour to be revamped in 2016". BBC Sport. 29 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Hearn Announces New Five-Year Plan". World Snooker. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020.
  4. ^ "World Snooker: Milton Keynes to host first eight events of 2020-21 season". BBC Sport. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Northern Ireland Open: Mark Allen fights back to beat John Higgins 9-8 in epic final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Allen Triumphs Again In Belfast". World Snooker Tour. 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Mark Allen retains title with 9-4 win over Zhou Yuelong". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Northern Ireland Open: Judd Trump wins Alex Higgins trophy with victory against Chris Wakelin". BBC Sport. 29 October 2023. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Wilson hammers Trump to win Northern Ireland Open". BBC Sport. 27 October 2024. Archived from the original on 28 October 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Wilson claims maiden Belfast triumph". World Snooker Tour. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Coral Northern Ireland Open (2016)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Dafabet Northern Ireland Open (2017)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  13. ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open (2018)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  14. ^ "19.com Northern Ireland Open (2019)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Matchroom.live Northern Ireland Open (2020)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  16. ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open (2021)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  17. ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open (2022)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  18. ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open (2023)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  19. ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open (2024)". snooker.org. 27 October 2024. Archived from the original on 28 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
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